Bill Spence, who wrote dozens of books and was also a columnist for the Gazette & Herald for 50 years, died on May 28 aged 101.
He began his association with the paper shortly after the Second World War, writing reports and articles, before starting his popular book review column.
Born and brought up in Middlesbrough where his father was a teacher, Bill joined the RAF after leaving school, trained in Canada and was then a Bomb Aimer flying in Lancasters with 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron from airfields in Lincolnshire. He completed a full tour of duty from RAF Spilsby, flying 36 operations and then in the mercy missions to the starving Dutch immediately after the war.
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